So many people still don't realize how many protests are erupting across the country. The sheer number of them should…

James@LiberalLeveler · Mar 17, 2025

@FoxBrambleFarm Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The Dens 🇺🇲🇺🇦@FoxBrambleFarm · Mar 17, 2025

If Soros were capable of funding even a tiny fraction of the things MAGA and trolls accuse him of, Musk, Putin, and the entire nations of Quatar and Saudi Arabia combined would be poor little beggars compared to his universe-shaking wealth. It's actually hilarious. 🤣

The Dens 🇺🇲🇺🇦@FoxBrambleFarm · Mar 18, 2025

I feel like I should introduce some nuance into my criticism of American media coverage of the protests. One of the greatest threats to our democracy is the threat to the free press. Of all of the rights they're threatening to remove, this is one of the most frightening. There's a reason the first amendment was put at the top of the list: the founding fathers considered free press essential to a free country. Trump's removal of media outlets that ask hard, valid questions from the White House press pool, replaced with right wing propaganda that won't challenge him, was highly concerning. His casual suggestion that media outlets that criticize or question his policies are illegal was terrifying. And if you think he misspoke, you're drowning in cope. He "misspeaks" far too often for it to not be intentional. He uses vaguely worded speech to introduce ideas to his followers in a way that can be argued: "didn't you hear his next sentence? He didn't mean to say that." No, he's planting an idea that can be expanded upon. Question his intelligence all you want (and believe me, I do), but he's skilled at subtly suggesting something awful and then slowly turning the heat up on the frog until it's boiling. It's why we're where we are. This method is how abusers gain control of their victims. Abusive relationships don't usually start with the abuser punching their partner in the face, they start with subtle suggestions that perhaps, maybe, the victim is deficient and, later, deserves abuse. The Nazis didn't start with concentration camps, invasions, oppressed press, and gas chambers, they started with a suggestion that perhaps Germany's problems were someone else's fault, there were conspiracies in the press, and that Germany deserved more. Now, look at the sheer number of news organizations out there, national and international. Some, like Fox (notoriously) and Washington Post (tragically), have gone all in on right wing news, hoping to become favored by the administration in the new government and be allowed to continue once the crackdowns really begin. But there are plenty out there still doing what they're supposed to be doing. Independent journalism still exists, and they need our support now more than ever. If you look at my latest threads documenting the protests nationwide, many of the pictures were taken by the protesters themselves. But many were pulled from the media. In more recent threads (didn't think of it when I started this. Suggestions that I cite sources were valid) I've credited the news outlet involved when this is the case. In it, you'll see a few national news organizations listed: USA Today and The Associated Press feature heavily in my threads. Of course, there are others. My biggest criticism is that with a few exceptions, the media isn't looking at the big picture with these protests. They're giving people a glimpse of the larger protests and ignoring the smaller ones in small towns and red communities. I think the picture overall, of an entire country slowly waking up and exercising their rights across America, deserves a lot of attention. It's not just about the protests drawing crowds in DC, it's about the angry crowds turning out in Oklahoma or Iowa or that small, deeply red community in Arkansas. It's about regular weekly protests that weren't part of a nationwide movement. It's about the crowd of retirees standing at an intersection booing Teslas every day. When you look at them individually, it seems like the blurb in the local paper are all they deserve. Viewed through the lens of thousands and thousands of people nationwide raising their voices, it's a hell of a story, and people who would join them if they knew about it need to know they're not alone. Stories about the bigger picture deserve attention that they're not getting. For some of the press, yes, the lack of coverage is deliberate. But for many, it's not some grand conspiracy. Stories of these protests are out there. Some are even talking about the national movement. Be careful when pointing fingers at the press as a whole. Analyze what that particular outlet has been doing, then level criticism only when needed, because these companies desperately need us on their side.